Coaching openings

[UCFKnights]

And just like that…. She’s been hired

Yep. Not shocking but still disappointing. I am pleased that the administration seemed to do what they could to keep her at least.

Some of our fans are acting like the program is dead now but it will be interesting to see who we hire next. UCF had almost no success prior to Coach Abe. Next year was likely a step back due to the loss of seniors anyway.

 

[southie]

I don't remember her at all playing for Georgia.

 

[Coler]

I don't remember her at all playing for Georgia.

She was only there for two years in the late 80s, before finishing under Cviv at Iowa.

 

[UcMiami]

Yep. Not shocking but still disappointing. I am pleased that the administration seemed to do what they could to keep her at least.

Some of our fans are acting like the program is dead now but it will be interesting to see who we hire next. UCF had almost no success prior to Coach Abe. Next year was likely a step back due to the loss of seniors anyway.

At least the UCF job should be more attractive with the move to the Big12 on the horizon.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

 

[HuskyFan1125]

As expected. I think this is good for Syracuse.

 

[Argonaut]

I will be SHOCKED if she isn’t announced as the next Syracuse HC within a week after UB’s season ends.

And I really believe she can turn them into a top 5 ACC team again.

One week exactly.

 

[Jmsdawg]

IMO, the winner in the coach search is Georgia, they got a real winner. I wonder how long it will take her to make UGA a top WBB program nationally.

 

[triaddukefan]

Interesting hire.. Former Wake assistant

 

[Basket]

I saw UCF beat UC Davis in Davis a few years ago. It was not exciting basketball but she is a winner

What an exciting and lucrative time to be coaching WBB

 

[Plebe]

Interesting hire.. Former Wake assistant

Former player at South Florida.
Most recently at Delaware, where she did a nice job.

Quite the geographical change for her. I believe all her job history is on the east coast.

I'm curious to hear how her contract compares to the other new hires'.

 

[UcMiami]

I saw UCF beat UC Davis in Davis a few years ago. It was not exciting basketball but she is a winner

What an exciting and lucrative time to be coaching WBB

To some degree coaches need to figure out how to compete with the players they have - in the AAC she was never going to compete with Uconn or USF based on talent and fluid basketball - so just like her former coach CViv she used hard nose defense and ugly ball. Be curious to see what talent she gets at Georgia and if it changes her style.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

To some degree coaches need to figure out how to compete with the players they have - in the AAC she was never going to compete with Uconn or USF based on talent and fluid basketball - so just like her former coach CViv she used hard nose defense and ugly ball. Be curious to see what talent she gets at Georgia and if it changes her style.

Although Vivian always had talent. The hard nosed defense / ugly ball was a chosen style, but the talent level was never in doubt.

 

[UcMiami]

Although Vivian always had talent. The hard nosed defense / ugly ball was a chosen style, but the talent level was never in doubt.

I think there was only a fairly short window where her talent matched up with Uconn - Vaughn, Carson, Ajavon, Pondexter - during the 2004-5 through 2006-7 seasons Rutgers was 5-6 against Uconn, and they had only one other win back in 1998. They never played a game closer than 10 points after their last win and most were 20+ point Uconn wins. Without Carson, Ajavon, and Pondexter the offense was almost always a struggle. 2008 was the last E8 and 2009 was the last S16.

 

[southie]

TCU is keeping Raegan Pebley another season it appears. She followed up her 2020-21 season record of 10-15 with a 6-22 record this season.

 

[Dillon77]

Former player at South Florida.
Most recently at Delaware, where she did a nice job.

Quite the geographical change for her. I believe all her job history is on the east coast.

I'm curious to hear how her contract compares to the other new hires'.

Emma Adler of "The Next" touched on a few of my reactions, as did you:

• "Arizona State: Hired Natasha Adair away from Delaware to be its next head coach. Adair’s a very good coach and all, but the fact that a program that invests as much money in its program as Arizona State hired someone who hasn’t been at the Power Five level in a decade and only made the tournament once is quite striking."

How about looking a little north to South Dakota (Dawn Plitzuweit) or South Dakota State (Aaron Johnston)? Something feels very "huh" about this....

 

[HuskyMJ]

Emma Adler of "The Next" touched on a few of my reactions, as did you:

• "Arizona State: Hired Natasha Adair away from Delaware to be its next head coach. Adair’s a very good coach and all, but the fact that a program that invests as much money in its program as Arizona State hired someone who hasn’t been at the Power Five level in a decade and only made the tournament once is quite striking."

How about looking a little north to South Dakota (Dawn Plitzuweit) or South Dakota State (Aaron Johnston)? Something feels very "huh" about this....

Very good coach may be a stretch because she has only really had 2 years of success and now she is leaving right as her star graduates, so we don't know if she has been able to build a roster that can win for more than a short flash. There are other coaches with much proven track records.

 

[DefenseBB]

For the record on salaries:
Texas A&M is paying Joni Taylor $850k for 2022-23 and escalating the salary each year for 5 years. Gary Blair base was $550k but bonus incentives seemed to almost double his salary for SEC or NCAAT success. Joni is getting more.
Georgia was paying Joni $750k. They are now paying Katie Abrahamson-Henderson $850K. Coach Abe is getting more.
Florida was paying Cam Newbauer $500k and now will pay Kellie Rae Finlay $700k. Kellie is getting more.
Syracuse is a private school so salary information is limited but last notice was Coach Q was getting $950k+ which Coach Felisha Legette-Jack will not be getting simply due to lack of success Q had earned while at 'Cuse. My educated guess is the standard $700K. Felisha is getting less.
Virginia was paying Tina Thompson $325k before incentives (I don't think she achieved any) and is now paying Amaka Agugua-Hamilton ~$425k (she was making $300K at MSU). Coach Mox is getting more.
ASU was paying Charli Turner-Thorne $602k as the result of 25 years of success. The new coach will be making less.
Oklahoma State was paying Jim Littell $640k per year, Jacie Hoyt was making $204K at UMKC. My guess is she will be getting less.
That means 4 are paying up, 2 are definitely paying less and 1 is suspected of paying less.

So @southie you would be losing on your proposed supposition that "a lot of the P5 programs are saving money" as you stated.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I think there was only a fairly short window where her talent matched up with Uconn - Vaughn, Carson, Ajavon, Pondexter - during the 2004-5 through 2006-7 seasons Rutgers was 5-6 against Uconn, and they had only one other win back in 1998. They never played a game closer than 10 points after their last win and most were 20+ point Uconn wins. Without Carson, Ajavon, and Pondexter the offense was almost always a struggle. 2008 was the last E8 and 2009 was the last S16.

Yes, but I wasn't referencing Rutgers / UConn specifically. Vivian's style against everyone was defense first and a certain amount of what you can call ugly ball (particularly, on offense). And she recruits to athletes that can play that style.

Rutgers has always had a decent amount of talent, never (in my opinion) quite elite although some Rutgers fans see things differently. I also felt that, after at least 2011 or so, the talent level was a bit lower and not as deep. Again, many Rutgers fans seem to think the talent level has always been great, but that Vivian has consistently misused them (citing Laney, Copper, etc.'s success in the WNBA). I think the whole thing is complicated, but the 2 peaks of talent were the 1st Final Four - in 2000 and the second in 2007.

 

[southie]

For the record on salaries:
Texas A&M is paying Joni Taylor $850k for 2022-23 and escalating the salary each year for 5 years. Gary Blair base was $550k but bonus incentives seemed to almost double his salary for SEC or NCAAT success. Joni is getting more.
Georgia was paying Joni $750k. They are now paying Katie Abrahamson-Henderson $850K. Coach Abe is getting more.
That means 4 are paying up, 2 are definitely paying less and 1 is suspected of paying less.

So @southie you would be losing on your proposed supposition that "a lot of the P5 programs are saving money" as you stated.

In the ASU thread, I did state that. And, I also clearly mentioned that Blair was very underpaid, and no doubt Joni would be getting paid more than what Georgia was paying her as she didn't leave to take a pay cut. I also talked about A&M reaching out to Waltz and reportedly offering to pay near $2 million a year. So, the A&M job is clearly not relevant to what I stated about schools possibly saving money.

Not sure where you are getting that Joni was only making $750k; this article states her raise one year ago bumped her to $850K. So, you can deduce that Georgia is saving money by refusing to get into a bidding war with A&M to retain Joni. If Georgia is paying Abrahamson-Henderson the $850k you reported, then it's neither an increase nor a decrease. Seems like they weren't gonna pay Joni's successor more if it's the same salary amount as Joni's.

Georgia Head Coach Joni Taylor Agrees to Contract Extension Through 2027 - University of Georgia Athletics

ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia and 2021 Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year Joni Taylor have agreed to a new contract extension through 2027 w...

georgiadogs.com

I appreciate the research time you spent, but that is a relatively small sample size. Illinois also made their replacement hire already; so, still need to read her contract details. Anxious to see what Florida State and West Virginia will pay their new hires. Again, I'll be surprised if they get paid more than the retiring head coaches.

 

[militarydog]

 

[SECbbfan24]

Hmm...

 

[southie]

Kentucky seems to have the floodgates open, so that's my guess!

 

[Plebe]

I guess Reiss is off the board for now (@DefenseBB )

 

[DefenseBB]

And she's getting paid a pretty penny to coach at a mid-major. She needs to have continued success and needs to start drawing fans in. This past year was a very good start but it needs to sustain.

Not sure how I feel as the AD is robbing Peter to pay Paul here. All the other sports save Rowing, Baseball and both Basketball programs are getting pinched....

 

[UConnCat]

Hmm...

New Miss St coach hiring assts from other SEC schools?

 

[militarydog]

New Miss St coach hiring assts from other SEC schools?

That is my hope for at least one assistant.

 

[Dillon77]

Wyckoff Gets FSU Head Coaching Gig (Finally)

Wonder if this promotion will make a difference to players like Morgan Jones, who put their name into the portal. On the flip side, it could help draw folks to Tallahassee. We'll see. Congrats Coach Wyckoff. As a ACC partisan, I've always appreciated what Coach Sue Semrau and Coach Wyckoff did with the FSU players (tough) and expect more of the same.

 

[cancontent]

Wyckoff Gets FSU Head Coaching Gig (Finally)

Wonder if this promotion will make a difference to players like Morgan Jones, who put their name into the portal. On the flip side, it could help draw folks to Tallahassee. We'll see. Congrats Coach Wyckoff. As a ACC partisan, I've always appreciated what Coach Sue Semrau and Coach Wyckoff did with the FSU players (tough) and expect more of the same.

I was hoping this was going to be the decision. Glad to see it's official.

 

[UcMiami]

Wyckoff Gets FSU Head Coaching Gig (Finally)

Wonder if this promotion will make a difference to players like Morgan Jones, who put their name into the portal. On the flip side, it could help draw folks to Tallahassee. We'll see. Congrats Coach Wyckoff. As a ACC partisan, I've always appreciated what Coach Sue Semrau and Coach Wyckoff did with the FSU players (tough) and expect more of the same.

So ... another P5 team going pinch penny instead of pursuing excellence!